The Government of Chile and the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) signed an agreement Wednesday for the installation of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Sur (CTA-Sur) project.
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The project will consist of a set of 99 interconnected telescopes with the capability to detect gamma rays, which are the most powerful type of radiation known, that makes it possible to investigate phenomena such as the death of a supernova or the advancement of a black hole, El Heraldo reported.
"We are deeply proud that our country has been chosen as the most suitable place for the installation of this new scientific project," the Chilean Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Carolina Valdivia - who signed the agreement with the director general of ESO, Xavier Barcons - stated.
Valdivia disclosed that northern Chile is one of the unique natural laboratories of the world. The region's clean, dark and dry skies have the best conditions for the installation of sophisticated astronomical projects.
The initiative, which will be fully operational in 2025, is the result of the work of more than a thousand scientists and will be located on the grounds of the Paranal Observatory in the Antofagasta Region.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a multinational project to build a new generation ground-based gamma-ray instruments. The CTA will consist of two arrays of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), a first array at the Northern Hemisphere with emphasis on the study of extragalactic objects at the lowest possible energies, and a second array at the Southern Hemisphere, which is to cover the full energy range and concentrate on galactic sources.
The CTA Consortium includes members from 210 institutes across 32 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States.
"Chile has become an astronomical global platform, host, adding that "the construction of the Cherenkov Telescope Array allows us to... advance towards 75% in the next decade."